I’ve always loved David Bowie. From Ziggy Stardust via the Thin White Duke to the smartly dressed Hamlet-inspired creations of the Serious Moonlight Tour. Even the movie roles in The Man Who Fell To Earth and (very differently), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. These ‘characters’ shaped the style and attitude of my teenage years, while Bowie’s music of the period touched …

Push comes to shove my favourite unheralded psych pop album of the 90s is the debut from the Orgone Box. It is a power pop tour de force where every track boasts a stellar tune, soaring harmonies and wonderfully psychedelic guitar. The great news is that it is going to reissued shortly on vinyl. I know there is a CD …

Now this is amazing. Some early demo tapes of The Smiths, noted by Slicing Up Eyeballs, have just popped up on YouTube. They are called “The Pablo Cuckoo Tape” run for forty minutes and feature work in progress versions of songs that would eventually grace the band’s first album and early singles. The track to listen to first is Reel …

Rock star endorsed hardware has been a huge trend over the late few years, from Dr Dre’s Beats through to Motorhead’s goes louder than eleven audio range, every influential musician seems to be getting in on the act. Now Sennheiser has landed one of the coolest collaborations of all. It is offering a limited edition (500 copies only) pair of …

Good news for Tame Impala fans, the band are reissuing their hard to find debut EP on vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day. It will come in red vinyl and features the six songs on the digital version – two of which were’t available on the digital EP. The band have come a long way since their debut, but …

Band reunions don’t tend to end too well now do they? Sure that mammoth one off gig in front of adoring fans is a win for both band and its devotees. It is when the band decides to regroup in the studio that the fun seems to end as invariably the band create music that adds very little to their …

It might only be March, but already it has been a vintage year for lovers of wonky sixties influenced pop aka psych. Last year’s great hope, Jacco Gardner, has already treated us to a very fine album that delivers on the promise of his exceptional early singles. While Robyn Hitchcock, the spiritual godfather of British psych has turned out an album that …

Simon Poulter of the excellent What Would David Bowie Do? blog salutes the magnificent return of his hero. When What Would David Bowie Do? was conceived in a fit of pique one June morning in 2010, it was generally assumed that the object of its title was quietly enjoying retirement in New York, walking daughter Lexi to school and basking …

Aaah Wales – land of Portmeirion, some of the World’s best castles, and that amazing street in Cardiff that is all chip shops. Even as a die-hard Englishman with hardly any Celtic blood in my veins I can say for now I love the Wales and the Welsh – though I must admit I am still traumatised by the sight …

I do find it astonishing that Robyn Hitchcock isn’t celebrating his 60th birthday with his rock royalty chums at Wembley, rather than with a few hundred diehards at a lovely, but small-ish East London venue. After all what is not to like? He has a voice like Lennon, songs that recall both Barrett and Dylan, jangly guitar episodes that summon …

A year and a half ago I wrote about how if fashion was to stick to a strict chronology then the late 80s fifties influenced styles (Chambray shirts, angular hair cuts etc) that were popular at the time would soon be usurped by the look of 1989 – Baggy. For the uninitiated – you are probably either too young or …

One of the most pleasant surprises of recent years has been the welcome, but very unexpected, return of 80s/90s power popsters The Primitives. After a hiatus of the best part of two decades the band re-ignited with a series of hugely entertaining gigs which they then followed with an inspired covers album. Clearly the band has unfinished business for yesterday …

If there’s one band that you could probably take and turn into a mini arts festival without actually playing a note of their music it is The Smiths. From their cover art, through to their musical influences and passion for films, The Smiths are still IMO the most interesting British pop band of the last 30 or so years. So …

A spot of Helen Love on Valentine’s Day. The band, or is it just a singer I never really knew, even has Love in their/her name, making this gem of a song about the pairing of two New York punk icons ever more appropriate. This is undoubtedly the best description of teenage romantic dreaming in small town Britain ever. Chat …

I had a friend once (coughs) who was chasing a girl for months. His master plan was to buy this single for her and play it to her on Valentine’s Day. Needless to say she walked out of the room before Joey had even finished the second verse and he has lived a life of misery and heartache ever since. …

It is barely February and there has already been a glut of great new albums. Jacco Gardner is on constant rotation here, Foxygen are IMO the most exciting new band in years and then for more mellow moments there’s Kontiki Suite’s On Sunset Lake. The band from Cumbria (quick q any other bands from Cumbria – could only think of …

If you are a regular on these pages you’ll already be familiar with the work of one Jacco Gardner, the Dutch psych whizz kid who last year produced one of those drop dead brilliant, play it to everyone you meet type singles in Clear The Air. The single perfectly captured late 60s British Baroque Pop in a way that no …

It is incredible to think that The Smiths were together for just five short years. In that time they managed to release four official albums, a few compilations of sessions, singles and oddities and of course, a run of some of the most amazing and unique 45s ever. And one of the things that made The Smiths’ singles and albums …

About this time last year Tame Impala’s psych vibes were only familiar to a small-ish band of very cool psych heads. Then came that single, the genius album and world domination, and a BlackBerry ad, followed. Another psych band who I think might just be about to take off in the same way are LA’s Foxygen. Put simply they are, …

Joey Ramone’s personal record collection, consisting of 97 records in their original album sleeves, could be yours. Well if you choose to bid for them, that it because they are going under the hammer on February 14th with a final bid date of February 21st. The records apparently come with a letter signed by Joey’s brother Mickey attesting to the …